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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

Inside Out

By Maria V. Snyder

Rating: 3.6 / 5 } Combined for both Inside Out & Outside In

The Australian Cover

(doesn't she look a bit like Miley Cyrus?)

As I crashed to the floor, I pulled my body into a protective ball.
I kept a fetal position as waves of pain pulsed up and down my legs. I braced for the cry of outrage from the occupant of the room and the call for the Pop Cops.

Instead, a concerned face came into my view.“Are you alright?” he asked. His blue eyes held a touch of awe as he stared at me with parted lips. No immediate threat.

What its about:

Keep Your Head Down.
Don't Get Noticed.
Or Else.

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution...

My Thoughts:

This is a two book series, consisting of Inside Out, the first part, and then the sequel- Outside In.

So far, Maria V. Snyder, the lovely author has said she has no plans to continue the series [source: This Author Interview] which sucks, but there might be hope!

So, after I re-read the awesome Hunger Games series I was very, very sad.
It was the what-do-I-do-with-my-life-now-that-this-awesome-series-has-ended?!?!? feeling.
I'm sure HP fans know what I mean.

Anyway, I didn't want to read light hearted book after such an intense and lovely trilogy but wanted something intense and gripping. Something fast paced and a complete page turner.
I wanted to read a book which would keep me hooked till the very end, and would obviously include romance (because duh-whats a book without it?!) and would be basically filling the hunger games void.

And Inside Out, along with its sequel proved to fulfill all above expectations and even took them a step further and left me with that amazing gooey feeling inside me and a smile on my face.

These books.
They're really good.

Lets start off with what its about.

So basically, Trella lives in a world known as 'Inside'. Its basically a gargantuan metal cube, with people living in it.Theres a sort of cast system there- shes a part of the slaves known as the Scrubs, working for the rich Uppers.
Life is tedious and frustrating for the scrubs, as they're forced to work in horrible, crammed conditions, making sure dust and rust stay away from the metallic inside, and the Uppers are satisfied. If anyone tries putting a toe out of line? They're fed to the chomper. Some believe nothing can be done- but others, like Trella's best friend Cogan believe otherwise.
Rumors have it that a Gateway leading to the mysterious Outside exists. A place where they pile all their hopes on.
And so we follow Trella on her incredibly brave adventure, as Queen of the Pipes, as she travels inside Inside, to search for proof of this supposed myth.

What I loved:

-Trella is brave and strong, and a really wonderful heroine.
Shes also plucky and loyal, and it was a pleasure reading from her perspective.

-The mystery about the Outside, the Gateway and the Controllers, has you guessing until the very end, and there are so many twists and turns! You're forever thinking of how its all going to play out and whats going to happen next.

-The writing flows, and the book is very fast paced and very hard to put down as Trella gets into quite a bit of trouble.

-The romance, is sweet and gives the book that softness it requires from all the intense things happening.

-THE SEQUEL WAS BETTER THAN THE FIRST BOOK!

What wasn't so great:

One thing I thought was lacking in the book though- emotion.
The love story and over all, Trellas feelings seemed a bit too fast paced, a bit too hasty.

I wanted to see more happen between Riley and Trella, but probably it wasn't because of any 'author's shortcomings' but because of their way of life in the Inside. But still, I wish there had been more!

And I would love to know Riley better, he seemed so adorable with all the talk about a certain stuffed animal and about caring about Trella.

And also, after reading Outside In [spoilers ahead!]

-What happens when they reach Outside?!?!??!?!
-Why were the Outsiders exiled??!?

The above two questions leave me wanting more.

It would be awesome if Maria V. Snyder wrote another book explaining this stuff.
Maybe Trella and Riley could have children and it would be their story?

Contains:

Inside Out:

Mild mild kissing/ talk about 'mating' / over all, nothing graphic.

Violence.

Outside In:

Slightly graphic 'shower' scene, kissing and sex, though not graphic at all.
Violence.

----

Over all, though, I loved this book, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
It was exactly the kind of book I was looking for to read, and it kept me up way past 3 in the morning!

Read both these books [Inside Out, and the sequel, Outside In] if you want something with a dystopian society, something fast paced and intense, something above the usual fluff and ultimately a really wonderful read which leaves you happy and with a smile on your face.

And here's a book trailer to make you even more excited about these books, if the review and teaser passage weren't enough: